3.55cGPA, 3.45sGPA, 522+ MCAT

[Psgl1]

I'm a junior at a large west-coast university hoping to increase my competitiveness for MD programs. I'm ORM and a Michigan resident. I have a 3.55 cGPA and 3.45 sGPA with a 522+ MCAT. There is a decent upward trend to the GPA (2.5 freshman, 3.4 sophomore, 3.82 junior). I've completed 3 years of clinical research. I have 4 publications, one of which is a first author pub in a fairly good journal. I have average ECs including leadership positions on two campus clubs. I have TA'ed for one course and tutored students in MCAT material for about a year. I have over 1200 clinical hours as a clinical research assistant (completely separate from my published research) that includes regular patient contact. I have around 1000 volunteer hours working for a NGO I established, but I will leave out details for the sake of anonymity. I have around 300 shadowing hours in various specialties.

My question is, what can I do to make my application more appealing to MD programs? I'm planning on taking a gap year to strengthen my app and do a bit of traveling. My main concern is the GPA. I have some poor grades in freshman biology and chemistry, including multiple Cs. I took upper-level courses in biology and biochemistry and did very well. How much will my freshman and sophomore grades hurt my app, and what can I do to compensate for the poor grades? Can anyone suggest some schools to target?

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[GrapesofRath]

You are a very good candidate for the schools in your state. There really is no need to apply OOS anywhere but to reach choices you would turn down your state schools for. OOS lower tier schools are just a waste of time for you.

Get MSAR to look at those OOS reach schools to target. Ideally it would be great to be at or above the 10th percentile GPA of those schools but dont fall subject to the mindset of "Cant apply if <10th percentile GPA" many on SDN do. Those 10th percentile GPA's are guidelines, nothing more particularly in this case. CWRU, Pitt, Ohio State and Duke come to mind off the top of my head as OOS schools worth considering.

 

[ChrisMack390]

IMO you are golden. If I were you I would just focus on crushing it senior year (keep that 3.8 or better).

 

[Psgl1]

I browsed msar, and my gpa is below many schools' 10th percentiles, but my mcat is above their 90th percentiles. I'm worried that I will be turned down at some schools due to "yield protection" and rejected from the more competitive schools due to my low gpa.

Is it worth doing a post bacc or smp to bring up the gpa? If not, what would be a good gap year plan?

 

[GrapesofRath]

Is it worth doing a post bacc or smp to bring up the gpa? If not, what would be a good gap year plan?

No this would not be a good use of time. You are plenty competitive for the schools in your state and many other schools.

Use the search function on here, talk to advisors etc about what would be a good use of a gap year for you. Without knowing you, no annonymous internet users can answer this question for you in anyway: the goal should be doing something enjoyable and productive.

 

[AlphaBeta<3]

Your mcat is above a 522 and you STARTED an NGO in addition to being published holy ****.

I don't think your GPA matters that much since ur from a top 25 school

 

[AlphaBeta<3]

@Goro

 

[ChrisMack390]

I browsed msar, and my gpa is below many schools' 10th percentiles, but my mcat is above their 90th percentiles. I'm worried that I will be turned down at some schools due to "yield protection" and rejected from the more competitive schools due to my low gpa.

Is it worth doing a post bacc or smp to bring up the gpa? If not, what would be a good gap year plan?

Updated GPA trends are among the top factors adcoms look at. Goro can give you more schools that are interested in reinvention, but they include some of the best like Columbia, Duke, Case, etc.

 

[Goro]

I don't think that you need a gap year; apply this year and aim high. Obviously, chances are best with all MI schools, but there are plenty of others that should throw you some love.

I'm a junior at a large west-coast university hoping to increase my competitiveness for MD programs. I'm ORM and a Michigan resident. I have a 3.55 cGPA and 3.45 sGPA with a 522+ MCAT. There is a decent upward trend to the GPA (2.5 freshman, 3.4 sophomore, 3.82 junior). I've completed 3 years of clinical research. I have 4 publications, one of which is a first author pub in a fairly good journal. I have average ECs including leadership positions on two campus clubs. I have TA'ed for one course and tutored students in MCAT material for about a year. I have over 1200 clinical hours as a clinical research assistant (completely separate from my published research) that includes regular patient contact. I have around 1000 volunteer hours working for a NGO I established, but I will leave out details for the sake of anonymity. I have around 300 shadowing hours in various specialties.

My question is, what can I do to make my application more appealing to MD programs? I'm planning on taking a gap year to strengthen my app and do a bit of traveling. My main concern is the GPA. I have some poor grades in freshman biology and chemistry, including multiple Cs. I took upper-level courses in biology and biochemistry and did very well. How much will my freshman and sophomore grades hurt my app, and what can I do to compensate for the poor grades? Can anyone suggest some schools to target?

 

[7331poas]

I don't think your GPA matters that much since ur from a top 25 school

Since when was this a logical statement?

 

[AlphaBeta<3]

Since when was this a logical statement?

If their GPA IS 3.55 athe a top school, along with their 522 and ECs , I think it'd pretty safe to say that their slightly below average GPA will be overlooked.

 

[WedgeDawg]

I think the best thing you can do is take a reasonably difficult senior year courseload and knock it out of the park (I'm talking like 3.9+ GPA if possible). That, in addition to your stellar MCAT, should help alleviate any concerns about your academic ability. Your ECs are obviously excellent, though when you are writing your application, I would emphasize the patient contact thing with the research assistant position to show that you know you want to work in a healthcare environment for the rest of your life (definitely shouldn't be the sole thing you're emphasizing, but the main thing for that particular activity).

I think that, provided you can do well your senior year, it might be benficial to take a gap year and apply at the end of your senior year rather than at the end of your junior year. The only thing that could possibly be holding you back right now is your GPA, so if you can show that that's not really going to be an issue, you are going to be competitive for any school.

If you choose to forgo a gap year and apply this cycle, you'll still be a competitive MD applicant for sure, but you might not make it into the top of the top (if that's where you're aiming). It's entirely dependent upon your career goals. If you're satisfied with a mid or low tier medical school while still being able to entertain a possibility of a top acceptances, then go ahead and apply, but if you really want to gun for a top school, it might be better to wait a year (again, assuming you can knock senior year out of the park).

I would suggest two quite different lists depending on which strategy you opt for.

 

[Psgl1]

I appreciate all the great advice! I'm planning on taking a gap year, but not solely for academic reasons. I've been considering the nih irta program recently (if I can find a 1 year spot). I'm not super concerned about prestige. However, I'd like to attend a school with a strong research program, and many of these schools are highly ranked. Can someone give some feedback on this list?

Michigan schools
U Chicago
Mayo
Dartmouth
Vanderbilt
Duke
Columbia
Pitt
Hofstra
Quinnipiac
Tulane
Wash u
Wisconson
Case western
UVA
Albert Einstein
Rochester
Ohio state
Rosalind Frank
Temple
Cincinnati

If money permits, would it be worth throwing in more reaches?

 

[GrapesofRath]

I appreciate all the great advice! I'm planning on taking a gap year, but not solely for academic reasons. I've been considering the nih irta program recently (if I can find a 1 year spot). I'm not super concerned about prestige. However, I'd like to attend a school with a strong research program, and many of these schools are highly ranked. Can someone give some feedback on this list?

If money permits, would it be worth throwing in more reaches?

Michigan schools, Ohio State, Duke, Pitt, WashU, Columbia, Einstein and CWRU is a good start.

I would get rid of the lower tier OOS schools like RFU, Temple and Quinnipac. Considering how many state schools you have and how likely you are to get into at least one, I would make your OOS list mostly reaches. Successful applicants from MI in a number of cases often tend to do so if they are going to top 20's or getting big scholarship money, not because they are going to other lower tier OOS schools. These OOS lower tier schools are probably going to be rather low yield with an MCAT this high as well.

While there's nothing wrong with these choices it's worth noting Mayo and Hofstra have relatively small OOS classes. Dartmouth also has a small class and they historically takes a number of non trad type applicants. Schools in the MCAT range of Emory, Einstein and Cincinnati might be other OOS options to consider if you really want to try to go OOS over your state school tuition.

 

[Psgl1]

Would I be competitive enough for MD/PhD programs?

 

[Fossa]

Would I be competitive enough for MD/PhD programs?

This might be a stretch given your GPA, but that shouldn't stop you from applying to a well researched list of schools. Keep in mind that many of the MD/PhD applicants are what I consider "rockstar applicants", meaning they have a stellar academic record with significant research experience. Your MCAT is great and your research record seems strong, but I do not know enough about MD/PhD programs to tell you how your clinical research will be viewed compared to traditional bench research (this type of argument frequently appears on these forums).

My best advice: Demonstrate your academic ability by acing your senior courses. If you are sure the MD/PhD route is for you, apply broadly. I always recommend applying to a cluster of MD and MD/PhD programs just to be safe. I'm a firm believer that good students will end up where they belong.